About Prospera INWF

Prospera International Network of Women’s Funds ‘Prospera’ is a global political network made up of 47 bold, diverse, autonomous women’s and feminist funds mandated to support movements led by women, girls, trans, intersex, and non-binary individuals and collectives.  Prospera’s structures include the membership body, its Board of Directors (elected by the membership) and the Prospera Secretariat (overseen by the Executive Director). The Executive Director works with all of these structures individually and collectively to guide the Prospera network in advancing its goals.

Aligned closely with the movements they fund, Prospera aims to dismantle oppressive systems such as patriarchy, capitalism, and colonialism.

Prospera advocates for resource justice by redistributing resources to intersectional feminist movements, particularly in the Global South and East, focusing on those structurally marginalised due to race, class, gender, and other inequalities.

Through solidarity, transparency, and collaboration, Prospera strengthens the network of women’s and feminist funds to promote sustainability and collective power.

Prospera’s vision is a feminist world where exclusion and oppression are replaced with diversity, inclusion, and justice, where all individuals can live dignified lives. Prospera believes in the transformative power of feminist movements and the crucial role of women’s and feminist funds in resourcing them. Prospera’s mission involves redistributing resources to uplift diverse women and feminist activists in the Global South and East, empowering them to pursue activism for a more just world. Through strategic partnerships and a commitment to feminist funding practices, Prospera seeks to deepen its impact and support feminist movements in navigating crises and opportunities over the next decade.

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About the Role

The Executive Director of Prospera International Network of Women’s Fund (INWF) is responsible for implementing Prospera’s Ten Year Strategic Framework. They will lead the Secretariat staff in meeting its goals, strengthening the effectiveness of the Network and its members. The Executive Director is a thought partner of the Board of Directors elected by Prospera’s membership and works closely with the Board’s Executive Committee to ensure that the strategies pursued are aligned with their Strategic Framework and the memberships’ agreed-upon goals. The Executive Director also sits as an ex-officio non-voting Board member of Prospera INWF. The Executive Director is an important advocate for feminist philanthropy and women’s funds and exercises strategic leadership to influence funding flows so that more and better resources reach movements in partnership with their members.

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Duties and Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Leads the implementation of Prospera’s strategic framework to advance its mission and goals;
• Guides the monitoring, evaluation, and learning of Prospera’s strategic framework;
• Together with the Board of Directors, lead advocacy to advance Prospera’s strategic goals;
• Monitors the extent to which Prospera’s actions remain true to its values and practices;
• Represents Prospera in a variety of capacities and spaces, developing and responding to new opportunities for Prospera, including funder meetings, conferences, affinity groups, as well as multilateral venues and corporate networks;
• Builds and develops constructive and collaborative relationships with funders and philanthropic entities and networks concerned with women’s and LGBTQI’s human rights, using feminist, trust-based, and decolonial ways of funding; shifting narratives towards gender justice and moving more and better money to feminist movements;
• Serves as a thought partner to the executive leadership of member funds, philanthropic actors, governments, and other actors in the philanthropic eco-system;
• Collaborates and works closely with Prospera’s allies to “grow the pie” for feminist funding.

Enabling a Strong Organisational Culture

• Coordinates the Prospera Secretariat’s senior management team, which includes four Directors;
• Actively supports the professional growth of the Prospera Secretariat team and oversees the recruitment and orientation of new staff;
• Fosters a shared leadership and collective care culture, supporting the staff and fostering the organisation’s values.

Advocacy, Relationship-Building and Positioning of the Network

• Designs an effective advocacy strategy together with Prospera’s Directors geared towards influencing and narrative building;
• Conducts constant mapping of philanthropic, governmental, individual, corporate funding, and Global South and East philanthropy fields for influencing;
• Builds alliances and partnerships with other key actors or networks and is part of initiatives to advocate for resource justice;
• Creates opportunities for strategic conversations, convening, and dialogues with diverse funding constituencies for case-making for women’s and feminist funds members of the Prospera network.

Membership Strategy

• Supports the leadership team in establishing and maintaining an appropriate membership strategy, criteria, and a formal membership due structure; developing and coordinating an attractive menu of membership services, including capacity-strengthening programmes;
• Oversees the design of and participates in Prospera’s periodic membership gatherings, such as Prospera’s Biennial and recurring Town Halls;
• Engages with members in the design and development of ideas for funding women’s and feminist funds and creates narratives to shape feminist philanthropy;
• Enhances the infrastructure of Women’s and Feminist Funds by supporting their resilience at both individual and collective levels, particularly to Funds based in the Global South and East

Fundraising, Financial Oversight, and Risk Management

• Ensures Prospera’s yearly Operational Budget of USD 3M and oversees the overall Financial management of the organisation;
• Identifies and pursues prospective funding sources;
• Monitors and manages legal, financial, and reputational risks.

Governance Leadership Support

• Establishes fluent and periodic communications with the Board, setting up and convening periodic Board conference calls and meetings to share information, look for feedback, be accountable, and coordinate activities with the staff.
• Enables effective governance development and learning, including bolstering the documentation of feminist governance practice.
• Involves the Board in new ways of influencing and adapting to the external environment.
• Ensures that the Board’s decision-making is transparent and communicates this to Prospera members in a timely manner. Designs participatory processes allowing members to be actively heard and represented in the governance body.

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Skills and Experience

• At least 10+ years in senior leadership within international organisations;
• Extensive understanding of and/or experience with philanthropic funding ecosystems (including in the Global South);
• Current or previous and significant work in the Global South, and knowledge of or expertise in Global South and East feminist movements;
• Demonstrated commitment to feminist leadership and practices
• Extensive programme experience in non-profit organisations and/or membership associations, preferably in the Global South or across different regions;
• Experience and familiarity with membership associations and political networks;
• Strong track record in advocacy and fundraising with institutional donors;
• Senior leadership and management experience;
• Experience working in multicultural organisations.

Competencies

• Ability to contribute to Prospera’s strategic thinking, including leading and managing membership-wide political and participatory processes;
• Ability to quickly design resourcing strategies and communicate these effectively in the best interest of Prospera’s mission;
• Committed to Prospera’s values and a working style that is participatory, democratic, and accountable;
• Ability to navigate rapidly changing external realities, including a shifting philanthropic landscape and evolving financial and political context for member funds;
• Excellent relationship management skills and ability to exercise tact and diplomacy in organisational settings;
• Good interpersonal and teamwork skills with the capacity to lead and willingness to support and enable others to lead;
• Ability to problem-solve entrepreneurially;
• Ability to work in a dynamic multi-cultural environment;
• Strong communications and writing skills – strong presentation and public speaking skills;
• Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines;
• Ability and willingness to travel frequently – at least 30-50% annually;
• Fluency in English and one other language of the network;
• Capacity to work flexibly across the full range of time zones.

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Salary

USD 136.5K gross per annum, commensurate with experience plus benefits.

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To apply for this role, please prepare your CV (in English) and a motivation letter (one page) that summarises how your profile aligns with the key requirements, skills and abilities of this role. Both files should be submitted in .doc(x) or .rtf format.

If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the selection process, please contact us.

After submitting your application, you will receive an automated confirmation. If you do not receive this or have general questions about submitting your application, please write to us.

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Prospera is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate in hiring practices and actively seeks a diverse applicant pool to build the strongest possible workforce. The ideal candidate would be a professional with strong feminist and women’s rights experience based in the Global South.  

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